Andy Serkis has confirmed that he is indeed the voice of the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer. In an interview with the UK’s Absolute Radio, Serkis said: “I can confirm that, yes. Absolutely.”
The confirmation brings days of speculation about the identity of the rasping narrator to an end, with Serkis and Bendict Cumberbatch jockeying for pole position amid the internet rumour mongers. When asked about the Cumberbatch speculation, Serkins laughed: “I’m sure Benedict doesn’t need any more attention at the moment.”
Cumberbatch, who has himself denied the rumours in the UK press, is currently ubiquitous in cinemas with three films on current release or about to come out. The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies, Penguins of Madagascar and The Imitation Game all feature the British actor in lead roles, while the next couple of years have him lined up in numerous high profile projects including a new series of the BBC’s global hit Sherlock, the voice of Shere Khan in the Jungle Book: Origins movie and a presumed title role in the forthcoming Marvel comic adaptation Dr Strange.
Serkis shouldn’t be too down on himself, though. He’s becoming quite the go-to actor for sci-fi and fantasy roles of late, having risen to global prominence as Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. He received rave reviews for his recent portrayal of Caesar in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and we can see him in an as-yet unspecified role in next summer’s surefire Marvel hit The Avengers: Age of Ultron. Serkins was keeping his lips sealed when pressed on his Star Wars role, but the often-reliable, though completely unofficial, Star Wars fan site Jedi News claims he may have not one but two roles in The Force Awakens, one a motion capture character harking back to his role as Gollum, and another in human form.
